Journey to the Center of the TARDIS

Mami's home...

"Girls, stay here. I'll come back for you later." Jared said, looking at Madoka, Sayaka, Homura, and Kyoko.

"Where are you going?" Madoka asked.

Jared then started to hear the wheezing noise of the TARDIS, "A trip. Into time and space."

"When will you be back?" Homura asked.

"Whatever day seems right. Maybe tomorrow. I don't know."

"Come back safe. You got that?" Kyoko asked.

"I will. I promise."

Tardis...

"You said..." Jared said, sitting on the jump seat.

"I know what I said. I was the one who said it." Clara said.

"You said it was looking at you funny."

"I was tired, overwrought. I didn't mean it. It's an appliance. It does a job." Clara said, walking around the TARDIS console.

"It's a pretty cool appliance. We're not talking cheese grater here." The Doctor said.

"You're not getting me to talk to your ship. That's properly bonkers."

"It's okay, it's okay." The Doctor said, talking to the TARDIS console.

"You're like one of those guys who can't go out with a girl unless his mother approves."

"Clara, it's important to the Doctor that the two of you get along." Jared said, sadly.

"Y'know, I could leave you two alone together." The Doctor said.

"Now you're creeping me out." Clara said, frowning.

"Take the wheel. Not the wheel. I'll make it easy. Shut it down to basic mode for you." The Doctor said, flicking switches on the TARDIS console.

"Basic? Because I'm a girl?"

"Nope." Jared said, turning a key labelled 'Smiths'. "It's because we're human."

"Human? Did you leave your Magical Girl friends at home?" Clara asked.

"I had to. Knowing what today is."

"Me flying the TARDIS. Everything will be fine."

"It wont."

"Of course it will." Clara said, when the power goes out just as she operates a control. "What have I done?"

"Er, okay." The Doctor said.

"Doctor?" Clara asked.

"All the electrical impulses are jammed. I can't get the shields back up. She's completely vulnerable." The Doctor said, flicking switches on the TARDIS console.

"I swear I just touched it."

"We know!" Jared said, annoyed.

The Doctor manages to push up a breaker lever and there is a big bang, "Magnetic hobble-field. We're flying right into it. Clara, stay by me."

"Please tell me there's a button you can press to fix this." Clara said.

"Oh, yes. Big friendly button." The Doctor said.

"You're lying."

"Yep."

"To stop me freaking out?"

"Is it working?"

"Not so much."

"I wish we had one right about now!" Jared said, walking up to Clara.

The grenade device rolls along the floor. Clara picks it up and it burns her hand. She drops it again. Bang!

Salvage ship...

Huge sets of pincers pass the Tardis along inside the ship.

"What is it, some kind of escape pod?" Tricky asked.

"Come on." Gregor said, while the Tardis has been dumped onto a pile of cables and is lying at 45 degrees. "Crack it open."

Gregor runs forward with a large hammer. That has no effect. Next comes the focused laser cutter.

"It's doing nothing." Bram said.

"Use the thermo-charge and blast it." Gregor said.

"No, no, no, wait. It's like she's alive. She's, she's suffering. I can feel it. I can feel it.

That's just robot rant." Tricky said.

"No, Gregor, he's right. Looks like there's a broken fuel line." Bram said.

Steam is coming out of the top of the Tardis.

"All right. All right, put it back. No salvage today, boys. Open the bay doors." Gregor said.

"Wait." Tricky said, while his bionic eye zooms in on a boot sticking out of the cables under the Tardis. "Somebody's under that thing. The crew were still on board when we dragged her in."

"We did nothing. If anyone asks, that ship was already busted. You got that? And you, make sure you keep your oily mouth shut, right?" Gregor asked.

"It's rude to whisper. Hi. I'm the Doctor. And you are? Er, Van Baalen and Van Baalen. Van Baalen and Van Baalen. That's going to get confusing later." The Doctor said.

"We found you drifting." Gregor said.

"Yeah, your ship was junked up pretty bad." Bram said.

"What broke my ship was a magno-grab. Found this remote in your pocket. Eh? What are the chances? Outlawed in most galaxies, this little beastie can disable whole vessels unless you have shield oscillators, which I turned off so that Clara could fly, damn it. Clara. Jared. Where are they? Girl, about so high. Feisty. Guy, about my height. Tsundere. They're still on board." The Doctor said, trying to look for Clara and Jared.

"No, wait. Your pod is leaking fuel. If they're still in here, they're dead." Tricky said.

"Ah, respirators."

"We can open the doors for a split second, reach in and grab them." Gregor said.

"Trust me, we can't. Now please, help me get them out." The Doctor said.

"I'm telling you, they fried..." Tricky said.

"Shut it, tin mouth. What sort of fee are we talking?" Gregor asked.

"If you help me get them out, you get the machine, all the scrap, eh?" The Doctor asked.

"It's not worth the risk. Four feet of metal? Nah." Bram said.

"What if I can guarantee you the best haul you've ever had?"

"Bram, open the bay doors." Gregor said.

"No, no. Please, stop. Listen, listen. Right behind those doors is the salvage of a lifetime." The Doctor said.

Corridor...

Inside the Tardis, the Cloister bell is tolling. Clara wakes up under an ornate but light piece of rubble.

"Doctor? Jared? Doctor? Jared?" Clara asked, blows on her burnt palm and walks along to a bulkhead door.

The brunette runs into the ally of justice.

"Clara!" Jared said, walking up to Clara to grab her hand. "Okay. Red flashing light. That's usually a bad thing."

"We should get out of here fast, right?" Clara asked.

"Yup. Clara, whatever you do, don't..." Jared said, when Clara opens the door.

There is an explosion.

"Bad decision. Jared! You should have warned me!" Clara said, looking at Jared.

Clara and Jared run from the fireball and the fanboy closes the next bulkhead door they find.

"Phew. That was a close one, Clara." Jared said, happily.

There are deep claw marks in the wall nearby, and something growls.

Salvage ship...

"Hey, are we really going to risk it? That thing is spewing poison. We should blow it back into space." Bram said.

"Get your gear." Gregor said.

"Hey, I don't take orders from my kid brother."

"Don't try and form sentences, all right? Stick to what you do best."

"Tell me, since when does an android need a blast suit and a respirator?" The Doctor asked.

"Flesh coating, same as us. He'd burn up." Bram said.

"No fear, no hate, no pain." Tricky said.

The Doctor unlocks the Tardis.

"Salvage of a lifetime?" Gregor asked.

"I feel pretty confident I can deliver on that. Here we go." The Doctor said.

Tardis...

"I don't get it. I thought she was lying on her side." Gregor said.

"The Tardis is special. She has her own gravity. I'd explain if I had some charts and a board pen." The Doctor said.

"It's, it's, it's bigger..."

"...on the inside. Do you know, I get that a lot."

"Whoa. Awesome." Tricky said.

"Well put. Whoa and awesome." The Doctor said, venting the fumes from the console room. "Safe to breathe."

They all remove the respirators.

The Doctor scans with the sonic screwdriver, "Okay, now, the last thing I remember, you were right there. Come on, Clara, Jared, talk to me."

"How big is this baby?" Bram asked.

"Picture the biggest ship you've ever seen. Are you picturing it?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. Now forget it, because this ship is infinite."

"It could take you hours to find your friends." Gregor said.

"Days. Plus this whole place is toxic. They could be dead by the time I reach them. So, here's the mission. We're going to find them in one hour." The Doctor said.

"We?"

"You're my guys for this."

"That wasn't the deal."

"'Tis now."

"What makes you think we'll help?" Bram asked.

A countdown clock starts on the scanner.

"I just activated the Tardis self-destruct system. One hour until this ship blows." The Doctor said, while Bram runs for the door, which slams in his face. "Don't try to leave. The Tardis is in lockdown. I'll open those doors when Clara and Jared are by my side."

"You crazy lunatic!" Bram said, terrified.

"My ship, my rules."

"You'll kill us all. And your friends." Gregor said.

"They're going to die if you don't help me. Don't get into a spaceship with a madman. Didn't anyone ever teach you that? Okay, a little gently persuasion. Say thirty minutes." The Doctor said.

The countdown jumps to 29:59:10.

"They'll die even quicker now!" Bram said, terrified.

"We all perform better under pressure. Anybody want to go for fifteen minutes?" The Doctor asked.

"Whoa!"

"Whoa!" Gregor said.

"It's your own time you're wasting. Salvage of a lifetime. You meant the ship. I meant Clara and Jared." The Doctor said.

Storeroom...

Clara and Jared find an old-fashioned room with a stone arched door, and the Doctor's cradle.

"Oh, memory lane." Jared said, taking down a model of the Tardis from a shelf.  "My Amelia Pond. Those were the days."

Someone or something else is there with them.

Clara spots it as she picks up a black umbrella, "Oh! Let's go!"

And runs out with Jared.

Corridor...

Gregor hangs back from the Doctor, Tricky and Bram.

"Report. What's on board this thing?" Gregor asked.

"Dynomorphic generators, conceptual geometer, beam synthesiser, orthogonal engine filters." The computer said.

Gregor catches the others up, "Guys, guys, look, I think we should split up. It's our best chance of finding his friends. You know it is."

"Don't touch a thing. The Tardis will get huffy if you mess." The Doctor said.

"Keep in radio contact, all right?" Gregor asked, as Tricky nods and goes off with the Doctor. "Get back to the console. Strip it apart."

"Okay." Bram said.

"All right?" Gregor asked.

They split up. Meanwhile, Clara and Jared are running from the growling bipeds, past an observatory with lovely big Victorian telescope and an open air swimming pool into one of Jared's favorite rooms in the TARDIS.

Library...

Letters are starting to appear on Clara's burnt palm.

"Oh, the library. With my extensive manga and light novel collection." Jared said, happily. "Along with spellbooks too. That I use to study the Midchilda system, the Ancient Belka system, the Modern Belka system, alchemy, Black Magic, Runes, Necromancy, curses. And a lot more things related to the mystic arts."

This library has both shelves of books and shelves of bottles.

"Why do you need that much information on magic?" Clara asked.

Six stories of them.

"Now that's just showing off." Clara said, looking at Jared.

Tardis...

Bram prises off a section of the console.

"I made up the name Tardis from the initials Time And Relative Dimension In Space." Susan said, her voice nearby.

"The Tardis is dimensionally transcendental." The Third Doctor said, his voice nearby.

"What does that mean?" Jo asked, her voice nearby.

"That's trans-dimensional engineering. A key Time Lord discovery." The Fourth Doctor said, his voice nearby.

"The assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door. Believe me, they've tried." The 9th Doctor said, his voice nearby.

"We are in space!" Amy said, her voice nearby.

"It can move anywhere in time and space?" Ian asked, his voice nearby.

And other indistinct phrases.

Corridor...

Gregor is following the beeps on his scanner.

"Everything." The computer said.

"What? Report." Gregor said.

"Everything, behind that door."

"Everything?"

"Sensor detects everything you could possibly want."

ARS room...

Of course, he goes in. There are lots of cables dangling down, with large glowing bulbs on the end.

"Everything." The computer said.

"I don't understand. Give me a price tag." Gregor said.

"Incalculable."

"What?"

"More valuable than the total sum of any currency. Living metal. Bespoke engineering. Whatever machine you require, this system will build it."

Gregor raises the focused laser cutter to take some. The Doctor and Tricky run in.

"No! No, no, stop! Please, don't. Don't touch it. Please. She won't let you touch it. I can feel a Tardis tantrum coming on." The Doctor said.

"What the hell is this place?" Gregor asked.

"Architectural Reconfiguration System. It reconstructs particles according to your needs." The Doctor said.

"A machine that makes machines?"

"Yes, basically. What are you doing? No, no, don't. Don't!" The Doctor said, and Gregor takes hold of one of the Gallifreyan engraved light bulbs. "If you walk out of here with that circuit, the Tardis will try to stop you. Now listen to me. Look, the clock is ticking. We must find Clara and Jared."

Gregor pulls off the light bulb and the whole ship roars, "What the? Where's the door gone?"

"Ever seen a spaceship get ugly?" The Doctor asked, looking at Gregor.

"This isn't happening." Gregor said.

"She won't relinquish it. Her basic genetic material."

"Torch it. I said, torch it."

"Can't you feel it, Gregor? The ship, the ship's in torment, like it's a living thing. You can't hurt it." Tricky said.

Gregor puts the light bulb in his backpack, and the door returns, "What's the matter, Tardis? Scared to fight me?"

Library...

Clara finds a large bound book on its own special stand - The History of the Time War.

Clara opens it in the middle and does a little reading, "So that's who..."

Clang, growl.

"Okay, okay..." Jared said, spotting a packet filled with jewels that's the Magecraft the Tohsaka family uses. "Thank you, Rin."

Clara dodges behind another rack of books and bottle to hide from the thing. Above her are bottles containing the Encyclopedia Gallifreyica. We can hear muffled voices.

Jared tossed a few of the jewels knowing that Rin Tohsaka can make more of them in the future. He thought of wind magic for one of the bottles on the rack that Clara is against to tip over, and the words tumble out over the brunette's head.

Clara wafts them away so the creature cannot hear. It gets close and Clara and Jared run for the entrance. Jared picked up two dozen of the magical jewels and placed them inside a sling backpack which he wrapped around his waist, with him accidentally leaving his magical pendant at Palutena's Temple.

Junction...

"It's the same. It's just the same." Tricky said.

"It's diverting us, spinning a maze around us. We will never reach Clara and Jared in time." The Doctor said, while Gregor walks away, and they follow. "Hey! Hey!"

And return from the opposite direction.

"It's just the same, again." Tricky said.

"No point in building walls. You'll just know how to smash them down. It's found other ways of controlling you. Smart bunch, Time Lords. No dress sense, dreadful hats, but smart. If you want to get out of here, let that circuit go. It is creating a labyrinth. And Jared has experience with navigating through labyrinths." The Doctor said.

"Bram? Bram, can you hear me?" Gregor asked.

Under the console room...

"Bram, the ship is alive. Get out of there. Bram, don't touch anything." Gregor said, his voice over the communicator.

"You're just the sweetest thing ever." Bram said.

Console room...

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Jared said, wearing a sling backpack filled with Tohsaka magical jewels.

"Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you." Clara said, kissing the console. "No! The door. Where's the door gone? No. You can't do this."

Under the console room...

Bram is following glowing power cables further and further down.

"Bram? You've got to get out of there fast." Gregor said, his voice over the comms.

The cables touch Bram, and he falls. Once he has got up and dusted himself off, something attacks him. Screams and twitches, then he is still.

Junction...

"Channel's dead." Gregor said.

"We've got to help him. Gregor, do something. Do something!" Tricky said, angrily.

"It's too late, he's gone. Let's just worry about the salvage."

"You care more about that circuit than you do about him."

"Your concern for your brother is really touching. The android is more cut up about it that you. Now will you two stop bickering and listen. There is something else down there." The Doctor said.

"We've got to get out of here. Gregor, give it back. Give it back to her." Tricky said, taking the light bulb from Gregor's pack.

"What are you doing? You're always on the side of the machines." Gregor said.

"Fellas! Multiple lifeforms on board the Tardis with us. I am getting a massive signal." The Doctor said, scanning away with his sonic screwdriver.

"Where are they?" Tricky asked.

"Oh, you're not going to like the answer. About two steps away. One step." The Doctor said, while behind them. A strange conjoined twins creature attacks. "Gregor, look out! Careful! Gregor, no! We have to stay together. Come on, run. Tricky, run. I'm sorry."

Console room...

"Damn. How did I forget about this?" Jared asked.

Clara and Jared discover there is more than one console room, each at the end of a corridor.

"Oh, why are you doing this?" Clara asked.

Console room 2...

"Back where we started." Tricky said.

"No, it's an echo. The console room is the safest place on the ship. It can replicate itself any number of times. It's trying to protect us." The Doctor said.

"Because I tried to give back the circuit?"

"Team Tardis." The Doctor said, rummaging in the wreck of the console.

A piece of metal falls, and lands in Clara and Jared's console room.

"Where did, where did that go?" Tricky asked.

"There's more than one echo room. Hey, look, look. The Tardis has got Clara and Jared safe. That was them. That was them there. Thank you, thank you, thank you." The Doctor said.

"Why can't we see them?"

"It's like a light switch. Two positions, flickering at super-infinite speeds. We're only together for a brief second. Shush." The Doctor said while they can hear Clara panting and Jared tossing a fire elemental jewel to protect him and his Impossible Girl. "I can hear them."

"Clara! Don't!" Jared said, his voice nearby.

Clara opens an internal door. Two creatures are behind it. Clara screams and Jared stands in front of her. The Doctor and Tricky can hear the growling.

"She's let it in. She's let it in!" Tricky said, terrified.

"If I can just isolate Clara and Jared's positions, I can nudge the alternation, reach in and grab them." The Doctor said.

Console room...

"Okay, if fire didn't work." Jared said, tossing a void jewel in front of him and Clara.

Dodging around the console.

"Who are you?" Clara asked, looking at the creatures.

Console room 2...

"Console room, echo imprint of the original." The computer said.

"You're coming with me. I need you to get me out of here." Gregor said.

The Doctor sonicks Gregor's hand computer.

"Scanning for male and female humans. Scanning for male and female humans. Unidentified humans." The computer said.

"It doesn't know Lancashire and New York." The Doctor said.

"What?" Gregor asked.

"It doesn't know sass. It doesn't know tsundere. Yes! It's found Clara and Jared. It's found them. They are right there." The Doctor said.

Clara and Jared scream, and partially appears. The Doctor grabbed Clara and Jared with one hand each and dragged them through.

"It's all right. Clara, Jared, I'm so, so sorry. Sorry. Please, please forgive me, Clara, Jared." The Doctor said.

"Clara, you know what to do. Because we've had one hell of a day." Jared said, crossing his arms.

Clara hits the Doctor.

"Ow! Okay, so we're not doing hugging. I get that now." The Doctor said.

"What do you keep in here? Why have you got zombie creatures? Good guys do not have zombie creatures. Rule one basic storytelling." Clara said.

"Rule two basic storytelling. Don't let me use the magic of my friends. When she isn't in the room. At least she isn't around. But geez. You idiot! Zombie creatures!" Jared said, grabbing Clara's hand.

"Not in front of the guests." The Doctor said.

"Who are they?" Clara asked.

"Friends. Well, people who aren't trying to kill us, so I don't need punching again."

"You kinda do." Jared said, scoffing.

"All right, all right. Look, a deal's a deal. You got your friends back. Now cancel the self-destruct." Gregor said.

"Ah. Ah. You know, I've got to tell you, I won't be needing you in my quiz team." The Doctor said.

"What?"

"There is no self-destruct. Hey? Hey? Hey? Had you going though, boys, didn't I? I just wiggled a few buttons. Yeah, the old wiggly button trick. And the face. You've got to do the face. Save her or we all die. I though I rushed it a bit, but..." The Doctor said.

"So you're telling us we're safe?" Tricky asked.

"Ish. Apart from the monsters and the Tardis reinventing the architecture every five minutes. Guys, don't worry. The countdown's a fake. Look, just give me a second. I'll turn it off. I only made it look as though the engine was actually exploding." The Doctor said, turning on the TARDIS scanner.

Eye of Harmony. Engine status: Overload.

"God! You dummy! You really are! Putting down the shields to teach Clara how to fly her! And now you've thrown us into this mess! Idiot!" Jared said, walking up to the Doctor.

"Ah. You're right, Jared. That's not good. Okay, don't panic. Or maybe panic." The Doctor said.

"Something you want to share with the rest of us?" Clara asked.

"It appears the engine is damaged. We're in trouble, Clara, Jared. Proper trouble. It needs fixing or we're toast." The Doctor said.

"So now would be a good time to use that big friendly button, right?" Clara asked.

"Yes. Sorry, I should have had one built in."

"Where are we going?" Tricky asked.

"Detour." The Doctor said, while they run down the stairs and the Time Lord sonicks open a hexagonal panel. "The centre of the Tardis."

Corridor...

The Doctor is scanning as he leads the troop. Something flashes across the corridor.

"Be quiet. Something's in here." Jared said, grabbing Clara's hand.

"Those things, they've followed us." Tricky said.

"Doctor, Jared, what are they? What aren't you telling me?" Clara asked.

"Just trust me. There are some things you don't want to know." Jared said, squeezing Clara's hand.

Something crosses behind them.

"They're on the move again." Gregor said.

"Run. Move, move." The Doctor said.

Clara gets separated from the men.

"Doctor? Jared? Doctor? Jared? Again." Clara said, while the burn on her hand is becoming clearer - mirror writing.

"I know what I said. I was the one who said it." Clara 2 said.

"You said it was looking at you funny." Jared said, his voice nearby.

"Now you're creeping me out. Please tell me there is a button you can press to fix this?"

Present time Clara goes round the corner and sees Jared.

"Oh, thank god. Jared, what's going on? Say something." Clara said.

The now Jared comes up behind her with the Doctor.

"Clara! Stop please! Don't touch it." Jared said, looking at Clara.

"There's a rupture in time somewhere on board the ship. A small tear in the fabric of the continuum. It must have happened when the Tardis was pulled in by the salvage vessel. The Tardis is leaking." The Doctor said.

"Leaking what?" Clara asked.

The Doctor leads Clara and Jared along the corridors.

"The past. The three of us. Everything we've done, everything we've said. Recent history. It's not real. It's a memory." The Doctor said.

They come across the single bodied glowing red eyed creature.

"What about this?" Clara asked.

"Clara, that one is real." Jared said, sadly.

They run away. It chases them.

"She's behind us!" Jared said, tossing a water jewel right behind him.

"She?" Clara asked.

"Clara. No more questions. Please!"

"You're like one of those guys who can't go out with a girl unless his mother approves." Clara 2 said.

"Clara, it's important to the Doctor that the two of you get along." Jared said, his voice nearby.

The creature follows the echo people. There is a banging sound.

"What's that noise?" Clara asked.

"We're right under the primary fuel cells." The Doctor said.

"So? So, so what?"

"So, so the fuel's spilled out, so the rods will be exposed. Means they'll cool..."

"And start to warp due to the heat..." Jared said, sadly.

"And start to warp. Maybe even..." The Doctor said.

"Don't jinx us! Please don't say it!"

"Maybe even break apart."

A rod flies through the walls just in front of them.

"Run?" Clara asked.

"Yeah. Running is a good plan, Clara. No wonder I love you. Over that idiot." Jared said, looking at Clara.

They run as more rods pierce the corridors from different angles. Up ahead, someone screams.

Tricky has been speared by a rod through his shoulder, "Cut it off. Just cut my arm off."

"No." Gregor said.

"It's the quickest way to release me. No fear, no hate, no pain. I can get a new one. Disposable parts. Just do it. It won't hurt me." Tricky said.

"Tricky, you just don't understand." Gregor said.

"I'm an android. Cut me!"

"You made it through." Clara said.

"What's the matter with you? Why won't you cut me?" Tricky asked.

"God! Just tell him!" Jared said, angrily.

"Tell me what?"

"You can't tell him, can't you? You're both cowards! That's why! Ugh! We're wasting time due to you not telling him! You won't save him. And the two of you are scared to tell him why."

"What's he going on about?" Tricky asked.

"Robots don't need blast suits. They don't need respirators. They don't get frightened of monsters in the dark." The Doctor said.

"What's he talking about?" Tricky asked.

"Two bionic eyes and a synthetic voice box. But you, my friend, are human. Flesh and blood."

"It was a joke." Gregor said.

"What?" Tricky asked.

"It was just a stupid joke. We did it to relieve the boredom."

"It was funny. It was hilarious. They lied to you Tricky. They didn't change your identity to suit a magic thing. They used you as in flight entertainment." Jared said, frowning.

"I'm sorry. You're human, Tricky." Gregor said, looking at Tricky.

"And for fuck's sake. Cut the metal! Now!"

Outside the Eye of Harmony...

"Where are we?' Gregor asked.

"Power source. Right, you lot, wait here. I'll check it's safe. We can only survive for a minute or two in there." The Doctor said.

"Er, what happens if we stay longer?" Clara asked.

"This is the year 5 Billion all over again. Where our cells would liquify and our skin would start to burn." Jared said, letting out a sigh.

"I always feel so good after we've spoken."

"Same. I hate keeping stuff from you, Clara."

"Marvellous. Keep this door shut." The Doctor said.

"That will not be a problem." Clara said.

The Doctor enters the room. Gregor scans Clara and Jared.

"Lancashire. Sass. New York. Tsundere." The computer said.

"Intelligent sensor." Gregor said.

"Ever pointed that thing at yourself, Gregor? What would it see? What sort of person does this to another human? Made them believe they're made of metal. Who am I?" Tricky asked.

Gregor rips a patch off his suit. Van Baalen Bros. The Doctor runs through the engine room and pulls open a door on the other side.

"My mouthy little kid brother." Gregor said.

"Why, why can't I remember?" Tricky asked.

"It was a salvage accident. There was a big explosion. You lost your sight, voice and your memory."

"And you, you thought of a way you could have some fun with me? I just wanted a brother beside me!"

"You were always the smart one, Tricky. He wanted you to take over. He made you captain."

"He?"

"Dad."

"I don't remember him. You did this to me just to be captain of a heap of junk." Tricky said, attacking Gregor.

"Stop! Tricky, listen to me. Ask yourself why he couldn't cut you up. He has just one tiny scrap of decency left in him, and you helped him find that, okay? Now you. Don't ever forget this." The Doctor said.

Eye of Harmony...

Very orange atmosphere.

"Okay, move, move, move." The Doctor said.

"I still think today is a stupid idea." Jared said, letting go of Clara's hand. "Why did I bother coming here?"

They all run onto the catwalk.

"The Eye of Harmony. Exploding star in the act of becoming a black hole. Time Lord engineering. You rip the star from its orbit, suspend it in a permanent state of decay. This way, quickly." The Doctor said.

But there is a creature behind the other door. And the male and female ones are at the one they have just come through.

"There's no way out. We're trapped." Gregor said.

"One of you is going to tell me right now. If we're going to die here, you're going to tell me what they are." Clara said.

"I can't. Seriously. I just can't." Jared said.

"Tell me. What's the use in secrets now?"

"Secrets protect us. Secrets make us safe."

"We're not safe! You told me that you kept secrets with Team RWBY! And it caused a kingdom fall in Remnant!"

"Sensor detects animal DNA. Human core elements. Calculating data. Calculating data." The computer said.

"Shit! Turn it off!" Jared said, running up to Gregor.

"Lancashire. Sass. New York. Tsundere. Identifiable substances. Clara. Jared." The computer said.

"That's me." Clara said. "And that's you, Jared."

"Clara, I'm so sorry. Seriously. I am." Jared said, sadly.

"It's me. I burn in here with you, Jared."

"It isn't just the past leaking out through the time rift. It's the future. Listen, I brought you and Jared here to keep the both of you safe." The Doctor said.

"Doctor, it happened again. Clara, you died again." Jared said, looking at Clara.

"What do you mean, again?" Clara asked.

Tricky and Gregor are trying to keep the door closed against another creature.

"Hang on. As long as we can interrupt the timeline, this can't happen. Don't touch each other, otherwise the future will reassert itself."

"Yup. That's the plan." Jared said, pulling Tricky and Gregor back, and the creature breaks in. "Damn."

It claws at Gregor's backpack with the light bulb in it.

"Gregor, Gregor, let go of the circuit." The Doctor said.

"Just let it go." Tricky said.

"Gregor, Gregor."

Tricky knocks this creature off the catwalk. Presumably it is future burnt Doctor or maybe Bram, although he is already dead. Then the conjoined creature and burnt Clara and Jared break in.

"Okay. Er, er..." The Doctor said.

Tricky attacks the conjoined creature, kicking it off the catwalk. He is left dangling.

"Tricky!" Gregor said.

"Doctor? Jared?" Clara asked.

"Don't touch him, Gregor. Or time will reassert itself." Jared said.

Gregor pulls Tricky up onto the catwalk and they change into the conjoined creature. The Doctor, Clara, and Jared get out just in time.

Engine room...

"The engine room. The heart of the Tardis." The Doctor said.

They run forward to the edge of a cliff.

"We're outside." Clara said.

"Nope, we're still in the TARDIS." Jared said, smiling.

"There's no way across."

"Yup. There isn't."

"So what do we do? Time for a plan. Do you have a plan?"

"No. No plans this time. Sorry. These days, I usually let the Doctor or Lady Palutena have one."

"If you don't have a plan, we're dead."

"Yup, we will be. So, Clara, tell me."

"Tell you what?" Clara asked.

"There's no point in not knowing now. And things have changed with me just being here. Clara, we're about to die. So, tell me who you are in this universe." Jared said.

"You know who I am."

"No, I don't. I look at you every single day and I don't understand a thing about you nowadays. It was easy to understand everything about Team RWBY and JNR because I spent years with them. Why do I keep running into you, Clara?"

"Jared, you and the Doctor invited me. You said..."

"Before all that. I met you in 2009 and we had a wedding day together. She died saving my life, and she was you. And the Doctor and I, we met you at the Dalek Asylum. There was a girl in a shipwreck and she died saving the Doctor's life and mine, and she was you." Jared said, walking up to Clara.

"She really wasn't." Clara said.

"Mantle. There were Centinels and you fought them and the Hound together with Yang, Ren, and Jaune to save Oscar. She died without me knowing, and she was you. Medusa. She put a forcefield around the castle where I was gonna fight her and a boss in front of it. A friend of mine showed up and she died, and she was you. Victorian London. There was a governess who was really a barmaid, and the three of us fought the Great Intelligence together. She died and it was my fault, and she was you."

"You're scaring me."

"What are you in this universe? Are you a trick? A trap?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Clara said, terrified.

And nearly steps back off the edge of the cliff.

Jared grabs Clara and holds her tight in his arms, "You really don't know what's going on, do you? Sorry about that."

"I think I'm more scared of you right now than anything else on that Tardis." Clara said.

"You're just Clara, right? Man, I'm such an idiot! God!" Jared said, angrily.

Another hug.

"Okay, I don't know what the hell this is about, but the hug is really nice." Clara said.

"We're not going to die here. This isn't real! It's a snarl." The Doctor said.

"What?"

"What does a wounded animal do? It tries to scare everyone away. We're close to the engine. The Tardis is snarling at us, trying to frighten us off. We need to jump."

"You're insane."

"All we have to do is cross a portal to get to the engine. It's like walking the Never After to get from Atlas and Mantle to Vacuo." Jared said, happily.

"How can you be so sure?" Clara asked.

"I can't." The Doctor said.

"Okay, well, that's watertight."

"Hey now, Clara, I have piloted this ship for over nine hundred years. Trust me this one time, please. Okay. Okay. As well as all the other times. Ready? Geronimo." The Doctor said.

They run and jump off the edge of the cliff into a white space filled with pieces of metal frozen in time as they travel out from an explosion.

"The heart of the Tardis. The engine, it's already exploded. It must have been the collision with the salvage ship." The Doctor said.

"We're not dead." Clara said.

"She wrapped her hands around the force. Froze it."

"So, so it's safe?"

"It's only a temporary fix. At some point, this whole place will erupt." Jared said, letting out a sigh.

"Temporary fix. Eventually this whole place will erupt. There's no way I can save her now. She's just always been there for me, and taken care of me, and now it's my turn and I don't know what to do. I think it just..." The Doctor said.

"Well, I think it just isn't possible to fix all this. I have the foreknowledge and I don't know what to do to change the future." Jared said, while Clara takes his hand, and he sees the burn marks on it. "Oh, Clara. Oh. Man. I forgot this."

Clara has Big Friendly Button burnt into her palm.

"You are beautiful. Beautiful fragile human skin. Like parchment. Thank you. The rift in time. All the memories leaking out. I need to find the moment we crashed. I need to find the music." The Doctor said.

Under the time console...

With the music that the Brothers were playing as they used their magno-grab. There is a vertical crack in the wall with bright light streaming through.

"Here's the time rift. The recent past, the possible future." Jared said, looking back at Clara.

"What are you going to do?" Clara asked.

"I'm gonna change the future. I hope. I've done it tons of times with Pit and Lady Palutena."

The Doctor uses the sonic screwdriver to etch the letters onto the grenade.

"I threw this into the rift before. I need to make sure that this doesn't happen. I have to go in there myself. I might start to yell due to my Aura breaking."

"It's going to hurt?"

"Well, yeah. It will hurt. Things that end your life often do that."

"Wait! All those things you said. How we've met before, how I died." Clara said, looking at Jared.

"Clara, no need to worry. You'll forget that conversation. Only the Doctor and I will remember it. Time knows how to fix itself. It can fix anything."

"I don't want to forget. Not all of it. The library. I saw it. Doctor, you were mentioned in a book." Clara said, looking at the Doctor.

"I'm mentioned in a lot of books." The Doctor said.

"You call yourself Doctor. Why do you do that? You have a name. I've seen it. In one corner of that tiny..."

"If Jared rewrites today, you won't remember. You won't go looking for my name."

"The both of you will still have secrets."

"Clara, it's better that way. It is. I do know the future, after all!" Jared said, excitedly.

Tardis...

The Doctor manages to push up a breaker lever and there is a big bang, "Magnetic hobble-field. We're flying right into it. Clara, stay by me."

"Please tell me there's a button you can press to fix this." Clara said.

"Oh, yes. Big friendly button." The Doctor said.

"You're lying."

"Yep."

"To stop me freaking out?"

"Is it working?"

"Not so much."

"I wish we had one right about now!" Jared said, walking up to Clara.

The future Jared pushes through the crack.

"Doctor! Listen! I'm from your future! We don't have much time to reset it. Pick it up!" Future Jared said.

He vanishes. The grenade rolls across the floor to Clara. She picks it up.

"Clara! No! Don't!" Jared said, worried.

The Doctor catches the grenade as Clara drops it, "Ah ha! Big friendly button."

The Doctor hits it. Whiteout.

TARDIS / Mami's apartment...

"Two days back to back." Jared said, leaning against the TARDIS console. "Time zombies. Man. It was a nightmare."

"That doesn't sound fun at all." Sayaka said, sadly.

Madoka, Sayaka, Homura, and Kyoko are eating cake and drinking tea on the living room table.

"It wasn't, Sayaka, I told you and the others not to come for a reason."

"We would have been burned to death. The hell?!" Kyoko exclaimed.

"Today was more dangerous than usual. A labyrinth and time zombies." Jared said, ending the phone call with the Puella Magi Holy Quintet.

Tardis...

The reset is complete. The encounter with the Van Baalen Brothers salvage ship never happened.

Clara is drying her hair, "I feel exhausted. I feel..."

"We've had two days crammed into the space of one." The Doctor said.

"Yup, we did." Jared said, walking over to the TARDIS jump seat to sit on it.

"Why would you two say that?" Clara asked.

"I don't know. We say stuff. Ignore us. Do you feel safe?" The Doctor asked.

"Of course."

"Good." Jared said, smiling. "That's really good."

"Give me a number out of ten. Ten being whoo hoo, one being argh." The Doctor said.

"You're being weird." Clara said, looking at the Doctor.

"I need to know if you feel safe. I need to know you're not afraid."

"Of?"

"The future. Running away with a spaceman and an ally of justice in a box. Anything could happen to you."

"That's what I'm counting on. Push the button."